The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-09-03


One day Bently came in looking
rather less blue than usual.
"Madge," he said, ~ have cot nice
new P. 7. Eve used to call the patients
P. T.'s), and who do you think it isP"
81 could not guess, so at last he had
to tell me Mr.. Jerry Winterbottom, OF
Barrowclough.
Mr.. Jerry Winterbottom was enor-
mously rich and very influential, for
besides being a mill-owner he had a
great deal of land and house property.
l knew him and his wife quite well by
sight; they were both very large, and
people always spoke of them as "a fine
couple"-in appearance, at least, they
were very imposing. They had the
biggest horses and the tallest foOtmen
in Bradham, and only one child to
leave every thing to.
young jerry" as he was always
called, was about twenty-four, and
quite different from his parents. He
was small and slight and delicate, with
deep-set eyes that were never still, but
always glancing nervously about.
His father and mother were devoted
to him, but l don't think they under
stood him the least; they were always
trying to make him as pretentious as
themselves, and push him forward,
when all he wanted was to be left in
peace in the background.
He might have been very happy, for
he loved books, music and painting,
and had money to indulge his tastes in
all three; but Mr. Winterbottom did
not approve of what he called "artistic
trash" and always wanting to stir
Jerry up, and make him take an inter-
est in politics; he actually had an idea
at one time of making him stand for
the borough.
Mrs. Winterbottom was just as bad,
and the two used to badger and worry
that poor boy Gall from mistaken no.
ton of what was good for himD till l
think they made him as unhappy as a
boy could be. To crown all, they set
their hearts on his marrying Charlotte
Porritt, the daughter of Mr.. Winter
bottoms partner. Charlotte was a
young woman of the style called
'dashing," with big black eyes and a
loud voice. Young jerry hated her,
and opposed his parents to the limit of
his feeble will; then he gave in.
Just when they had wrung prom
Use from him to propose to Charlotte,
he fell i'll of kind of intermittent
fever, and then it was they called in
Bently. Though Jerry was i'll, he was
not SO bad as to be confined to the
house altogether; sometimes he had to
stop in and lie on the sofa, but some
times he was strong enough to go out
and walk about. Bently said he was
not to be worried or contradicted at
all, but must be allowed to do just
what he liked, and to amuse himself as
much as possible.
One day, my husband told me that
Mr.. and Mrs. Winterbottom were 60
ing to call on me. l suppose made
rather a face, for he said, little
sharply:
Nov do be careful what you say
and how you behave, they are the best
patients have; and please be amiable
ard conciliatory even if they do pat
ronize a little"
was as anxious to secure their
good will as he was for l knew what
an influential connection theirs was;
so / determined when they came to put
on my prettiest manners.
The day after the announcement of
their approaching visit was made was
pouring wet, so wet that nobody would
have thought of going out. Lizzie Da-
ores Just ran in after lunch, and we sat
gossiping over the fire till about three,
then l suddenly said:
mo one will call to-day. l shall
wash my hair. !"
have an inconvenient amount of
hair, and it is very serious affair to
wash it.
Well, l was sitting on the edge OF
the fender, in an old red rag of dress
ing-gown, with all my tresses in wet
rat-tails about my shoulders, and a
towel in my hand, when there came a
tremendous ring at the front-door bell.
We were in the dining-room, must
tell you, and there was no fire in the
drawing-room.
The peal had hardly died away,
when we heard heavy footsteps, and
Sarah's voice in sprightly tones of wei
come, saying:
"Oh, yes muml She's at homer
l gave one glance of agony at Lizzie
and then sprang lightly into a large
cupboard where we kept jars and
newspapers, and drew the door to after
me.
In this cupboard was another dool
opening into the surgery, and my idea